Life of Darkness Part 3: City of Steel
by Xorac22
Summary: Chapter 3 is up:: Keja and the others are wandering through the Wasteland when a mysterious man sends them underground with just the push of a button. Now they are trapped in a massive Mechanical City and must find a way out.
1. Westbound

Chapter 1: Westbound  
  
The four woke up the next day. YQ stretched out and walked over to a nearby pond to get a drink. Picard, still half asleep, struggled to get up. Keja, who was the first one up, stared at the city beneath the shattered ruins of the large castle. It seemed somehow familiar.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ameph asked Picard.  
  
"Trying to get up. This armor isn't all an upside you know." Picard said as he finally got to his feet.  
  
"Freeze!" A man said from behind.  
  
"Huh." Keja said as he turned around to see six Magic Swordsmen with their swords drawn.  
  
"You're trespassing on an off limits area." One of them said.  
  
"Officer Vice." YQ said as he walked up to the group. "It's ok. They're with me."  
  
"YQ. What are you doing here?" Vice asked.  
  
"See that?" YQ asked as he pointed to the rubble of the Castle. "That's what we were doing here."  
  
"The castle. You destroyed it." Vice looked on in amazement.  
  
"Well. We didn't destroy it." YQ said. "But we did play a part in it."  
  
"Yes well." Vice said. "The Queen still would like a word with you. This way please."  
  
"Whatever." YQ said as he followed the Swordsmen.  
  
"You know what I've been wondering?" Picard asked.  
  
"What?" Keja replied.  
  
"Why is a Dark based monster the Queen of the Luminous Spark?" Picard continued.  
  
"Because she isn't really a Dark based monster. The Queen you know isn't the Queen of Luminous Spark." YQ answered.  
  
"Who is?" Ameph asked.  
  
"The Queen you know is the Cosmo Queen. She is the sister of the Queen." YQ answered.  
  
The group walked the path to Fountain for a few hours. They arrived in the west side of town and stopped at YQ's house. YQ ran upstairs and came back with a folded piece of paper in his hand. They continued to Bright Castle and arrived at the massive fountain in front of it.  
  
"Take a rest if you want." Vice said. "I'm going to inform the Queen of your arrival."  
  
Vice and the five other Swordsmen ran up the long stairway and into the castle.  
  
"Well. Shall we go?" Keja asked.  
  
"Yeah." YQ said.  
  
The group ran up the stairs and entered the large hallway that led to the Throne Room. They were stopped at the entrance by Vice who had his arms folded.  
  
"Now. The Queen isn't very good at being patient. So if you have to tell a story, make sure it isn't long." Vice said.  
  
"Got it." Keja said.  
  
"Very well then." Vice said as he pushed open the large doors. "You may enter."  
  
They all walked into the throne room to see the Cosmo Queen standing next to the Throne where a Wingweaver sat.  
  
"So Vice. These are the ones responsible for the destruction of the Castle of Dark Illusions?" The Queen asked.  
  
"Not exactly your majesty." Vice answered.  
  
"Then why have you brought them to me?" The Queen asked.  
  
"We helped play a part in it." YQ said as he stepped forward.  
  
"YQ. You have returned." The Queen said.  
  
"Yes you majesty." YQ said. "Now. I need to tell you what happened."  
  
"Be quick about it." The Queen said.  
  
"Can do." YQ said.  
  
YQ began to tell the story. Start to finish from the time they entered the final chamber in the Castle, to the Shin's Summoning of Kazejin. Despite her impatient manner, the Queen seemed to be very into YQ's story.  
  
"So there you have it." YQ finished. "We would be met by Vice and his comrades the next morning."  
  
"I see." The Queen answered. "Well. Even though it wasn't you who destroyed the castle, I think you deserve a reward for your efforts."  
  
"Rewarded how?" Picard asked.  
  
"Follow me." The Queen said as she pulled back the right armrest on her throne. The throne then began to move. It screeched hard to the right and revealed a passageway.  
  
The Queen walked into the dark corridor and the group followed. At the end of the passageway was a wall with a symbol on it. The Queen reached out and touched the inscription on the wall and it opened like a door. They all walked into a well-lit room where a statue of a man with a top hat sat. The Queen walked up to the statue and touched it's hat. In an instant the statue sprung to life.  
  
"Why have you awakened me?" The statue asked.  
  
"Behold children." The Queen said. "This is Question. As reward for you efforts in the Castle of Dark Illusions, you can each ask him one question."  
  
"I'll go first." Ameph said. "Question. Where is my mother?"  
  
"The mother of Ameph Est Mako is within the Castle of Elsewhere, home to the exiled Prince of Yami, Dominus." Question answered. "Next Question."  
  
"Where is the Castle of Elsewhere?" YQ asked.  
  
"The Castle of Elsewhere is a flying castle much like Dark Illusions, only very much larger. Because it is a flying castle, Elsewhere cannot be found in a specific place. It is everywhere." Question answered. "Next Question."  
  
"Let's see here." Picard said and turned to the Queen. "I think I'll save my Question for another day."  
  
"Very well then." The Queen said. "That just leaves you, Keja."  
  
Keja thought about his question for a second. "Alright. Here's my Question." He said. "What is the Pentagram?"  
  
"The Pentagram is a sacred puzzle of five pieces. If all five pieces of this puzzle are assembled, then the assembler shall release and control the beast imprisoned in it. This beast is said to be one of the most powerful creatures in history. The creature's name is yet to be uncovered but it has frequently been called, The Unstoppable." Question answered. "Next Question."  
  
"That will be all Question." The Queen said.  
  
"Very well." Question said. "I await the day where I answer another question." With that Question reverted to his stone form.  
  
After leaving the chamber and thanking the Queen before leaving, the four stood along the rim of the large fountain outside the castle.  
  
"The Unstoppable huh?" Picard asked.  
  
"Obviously, Dominus wants those pieces so he can control that thing." YQ said.  
  
"And he already has three pieces." Keja replied.  
  
"So where are we going next?" Ameph asked.  
  
"West." Keja said. "That's the direction Shin and Huan flew off to so we'll follow them."  
  
"West it is." YQ said.  
  
The four began to head west they headed through the destroyed town that had the ruins of Dark Illusions. Dark Illusions was nothing but a memory now, and all they had on their minds was finding the Castle of Elsewhere, where Ameph's mother would be, and were Dominus would be. 


	2. The Sadistic Scientist of Metopia

Chapter 2: The Sadistic Scientist of Metopia  
  
"So where exactly are we going anyways?" Picard said as they all strolled through the Wasteland.  
  
"At the direction we're going, we'll probably end up in Fiend." YQ answered.  
  
"Are you kidding me!?" Picard stopped. "That place is crawling with fiends and practically everyone who isn't a Fiend or Zombie that enters that place is killed on the spot!"  
  
"Exactly." Keja said as he continued walking.  
  
"Then why the hell are we going there?" Picard asked.  
  
"I never said we were going there in the first place." Keja answered.  
  
"And lower your voice Picard." YQ said. "You know as well as I do that there's more than just Fiends and Zombies out here."  
  
"So Roas." Dominus said as he turned from his window. "Tell me again where the fourth piece of the Pentagram is."  
  
"It's just an hour away from Fiend sir." Roas said.  
  
"Who has it?" Dominus asked.  
  
"I don't know sir." Roas answered. "The Claw Reacher we captured just tells us that it's in a large underground city."  
  
"Well then Roas." Dominus said. "Shin and Huan have had their fun for a while. Why don't you go get me the Pentagram piece?"  
  
"Yes sir." Roas said as he headed for the door. "I shall return as soon as possible."  
  
"Very good." Dominus said as he turned around to a man bowing down on one knee. "Captain Kojikocy."  
  
"Master Dominus." Kojikocy answered.  
  
"Now you know as much as the next man that I hate defeat." Dominus said. "Let's make sure it never happens again."  
  
"Yes." Kojikocy replied. "Never again."  
  
"Good." Dominus said. "Now. Shin is in the main chamber. Why don't you two go find your partner?"  
  
"Yes, right away." Kojikocy said as he walked out the door.  
  
"Now. Let's see where baby brother is." Dominus said as he walked over to his crystal ball. The Crystal ball lit up and showed the four walking the path through Wasteland. "Ah. Keja and his companions are on the route to or close to Fiend. Let see if they can beat Roas there."  
  
"Seriously." Ameph said to the complaining Picard. "It's not like were going in to just waltz in there."  
  
"Well I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt to stay the hell away from that place." Picard replied.  
  
"Picard. Shut up." YQ said. "We aren't going to Fiend unless it's absolutely necessary."  
  
"Oh ho!" A man said in a dark room with a screen displaying the four on it. "Looks like we have some trespassers. I can use them to test out my new toys. Three Dark Magicians and a Buster Blader, come on down!" With that the mysterious man pushed a button.  
  
A large thud shook the ground around Keja and the others.  
  
"What the hell was that?" YQ asked.  
  
"I have a feeling we are going to find out." Keja said as the ground began to break beneath them.  
  
Suddenly the ground became soft as if it was quicksand and they began to fall through.  
  
"Ok. Now I'm pissed." YQ said as he sunk into the ground.  
  
"Aren't we all?" Keja replied.  
  
They all sunk like rocks in water to the bottom of the pit and then fell through an opening. They fell for a while and landed on a sand pile in what appeared to be a cave.  
  
"I hate the desert." YQ said.  
  
"We aren't in the desert." Picard replied.  
  
"I know. Sand just reminds me of it." YQ said.  
  
"Sand should be the last of your problems right now Dark Magician." A voice said.  
  
"Who is that?" Keja asked as he got up.  
  
"You shall see soon." The voice said. "But you must first travel to the center of, Metopia!"  
  
"Metopia?" Keja asked. "What's a Metopia?"  
  
"Metopia is a Metal Utopia. Or if you want a better name, just call it the City of Steel." The voice said. "Now. Let's see here. Ah ha! How about this!" The mysterious man pushed yet another button. "Behold!"  
  
One of the buildings began to lower itself to the ground. The top of the building opened up like a mouth and the building continued to come down as if it was sinking into the ground.  
  
"What's going on?" Picard asked as he pulled out his sword.  
  
"You shall soon see Buster Blader." The voice said. "Now as I was saying, Behold! My creation!"  
  
A large object rolled out from the area where the building once stood. It came around the corner of the pathway and turned towards the group. The large golden creature looked nothing like they had ever seen before.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Picard asked.  
  
"This little toy is called Guardian of The Throne Room. I built it myself." The voice answered.  
  
"You built it?" Keja asked. "With what?"  
  
"Steel. This is just one of many monsters that I like to call Machine Monsters." The voice continued. "Soon I shall have an entire army at my disposal and I shall take over the world above!"  
  
"Well. You sound like your pretty determined." YQ said. "But I doubt that thing could even hit me. Let's see how it doesn't when I hit it with my Dark Magic Attack." YQ fired the dark violet blast from his hand and hit the monstrous steel creature. "Hmph. Easy."  
  
"You're a fool, young man." The voice said. "You have yet to see the power of my Guardian. Now, Guardian, activate offensive mode!"  
  
"What are you talking about man? I blew that thing to bits." YQ said.  
  
"Take a closer look." The voice instructed.  
  
YQ looked to where the Machine was last seen, and there it was. "Not even a scratch." YQ said in shock.  
  
"All my Machines are guarded by Magic-Resistant Armor." The voice explained. "Your little magic tricks won't work on them. You'll have to use brute force if you want to win this battle."  
  
"Not a problem." Picard yelled as he jamp at the machine with his sword drawn. Picard threw a hard downward slash and slammed it into the head of the machine.  
  
"Hmph. Worthless. Guardian! Show him how it's done!" The voice yelled as the Guardian reached up and grabbed Picard around the waste and proceeded to squeeze the Buster Blader.  
  
Picard let out a yell of pain as the Guardian continued to tighten its grip. "A little help here." He stuttered.  
  
"I've got you covered." Keja said. "Just let me charge up for a second."  
  
"Ha. You think you'll be able to take down my Guardian." The voice said. "Let's see how you do against this. Guardian! Missile Assault!"  
  
The Guardian stopped tightening its grip and bent over a bit, revealing an assortment of missiles on its back. The missiles began to fire off, one by one. Ameph and YQ ran in a attempt to dodge the rockets, but the missiles followed them. The final missile launched for Keja, he ran under the missile and it followed him as well. Keja jamp onto the base of the Guardian and stopped for a second, he jamp out of the way just as the missile had come within a few feet of him and the missile collided with the Guardian and the large machine exploded.  
  
"Couldn't you have come up with some other way to get me free?" Picard said as Keja helped him up.  
  
"Probably." Keja said. "Come on. YQ and Ameph are still around here somewhere."  
  
"What happened to them?" YQ asked as he kicked the motionless missile.  
  
"I don't know. The just stopped." Ameph answered.  
  
"Yes that's what happens when a machine is deactivated." The voice said from behind. "The weapons become inactive as well."  
  
"Ok old man!" YQ yelled as he looked at the old man behind them. "Just who the hell are you anyways!?"  
  
"Me?" The man asked. "I am the one and only, the Magical Scientist, Professor Cleric!"  
  
"Well, Professor Cleric." YQ said as he walked up to the old man. "Let me introduce you to my fist!"  
  
YQ threw a punch at the man and fell through him.  
  
Cleric laughed. "I love holograms." He said. "They project my image from a far away place."  
  
"That's a nice trick." Picard said as he and Keja ran up.  
  
"Who are you now?" Keja asked.  
  
"Professor Cleric is my name." He answered. "Now Mr. Dark Magician, if you wish to punch me in my real face, just come to the Coliseum. I'll be there."  
  
"Fine then Professor." YQ said. "Your gonna so get it when I get over there."  
  
"We'll see won't we?" Cleric said. "Now, just look for the big dome. And there you are."  
  
"See you there then." Keja replied.  
  
"I look forward to it." Cleric said before laughing as his image on the holograph disappeared.  
  
Keja and the others walked toward the Coliseum, once again not knowing what was in store for them. But this time they weren't dealing with Insects or Zombies, they were dealing with large metal machines and the man who made them. 


	3. Gamble with your Life

**Chapter 3: Gamble with your Life  
**  
"I'm gonna throttle that little old piece of crap." YQ said as he and the others walked the long metallic path to the Metopia Coliseum.  
  
"Not before I get my hands on him first." Ameph said as she popped her knuckles.  
  
"Maybe we should just take this one step at a time." Keja suggested. "That was no ordinary creature back there."  
  
"Yeah. He more than likely has more of those things." Picard said. "And we barely made it through the first one."  
  
"Whatever." YQ replied. "Let's just take care of that old ass and get the hell out of here."  
  
"Hey." Keja said. "There's the entrance."  
  
"Finally." Ameph said as they all started to run for the entrance to the Coliseum.  
  
They all ran up to the huge steel doors that prevented their entry into the Coliseum.  
  
"I see you've finally found the entrance." Cleric said as another hologram of himself appeared if front of the door.  
  
"Well, we're here." YQ said as he crossed his arms. "Now what?"  
  
"Now you must speak the entry code." Cleric answered.  
  
"Well then. What's the entry code?" Keja asked.  
  
"Do you really think I'm just going to give it to you?" Cleric asked. "If you wish to have the entry code, go find it at the Casino next door."  
  
"Fine." YQ said as he began to walk to the building with bright shimmering lights. "Come on."  
  
"Uh." Ameph sighed. "More walking?"  
  
"This place is actually pretty cool." Picard said as they reached the front of the Casino.  
  
"It's a strange place is what it is." YQ said.  
  
"Yeah." Keja replied, as he looked at all the decorations that surrounded them. "I've never seen anything like this."  
  
"We're here!" YQ shouted. "Now what?"  
  
"Enter. And face the challenge ahead of you!" Cleric said before letting out a sinister laugh.  
  
The doors opened to the Casino and the group entered. It was even more decorated than the outside. Bells and lights were going off and on everywhere, however they were the only ones inside. The doors slammed hard behind them.  
  
"What the hell is this place?" Picard asked.  
  
"It is the future young Buster Blader." Cleric answered. "Once my life's work is completed, I shall bring it to the surface. And everyone will enjoy the wonders and excitement of my Mechanical City."  
  
"So how do we get the password to your stupid Coliseum?" YQ demanded.  
  
"You must win one of my fun games." Cleric answered. "In the center of the room is a fun toy called a Slot Machine. In order to play this game you need to pull the lever on the side of the machine, and then the wheels will roll and stop when you say so. If all three wheels land on the number seven, you win the password and the surprise that follows. Now play children. And Gamble with your lives!"  
  
"A surprise huh." YQ said as he walked to the giant machine in the center of the room. "Whatever. I just wanna get the hell out of here."  
  
"So many machines." Ameph said as she looked around the room.  
  
"Yeah. This would really be a fun place." Keja replied.  
  
"If it ever makes it to the surface that is." Picard said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Keja asked.  
  
"YQ is like this all the time. He can't stand being trapped." Picard answered. "I remember this one time, me and him were in a cave in the Mountain Region. We were trapped by these three sisters and YQ got really agitated."  
  
"So what happened?" Ameph asked.  
  
"We were eventually saved by this one guy who was supposedly the brother of those three sisters." Picard continued. "And as we were just about to go down the mountain, YQ leveled the entrance to the cave."  
  
"So he could get so angry that he could blow this whole city up?" Ameph said. "Sounds like he has problems."  
  
"No." YQ said as they join him at the altar to the Slot Machine. "Just a rough five years."  
  
"So how does this thing work again?" Picard asked.  
  
"We have to pull this." Keja said as he yanked down on the lever.  
  
Instantly the wheels on the Slot Machine began to spin. The group was baffled at the different assortment of symbols on the wheels. Among them were a black X, a Pendulum, and the number seven.  
  
"Stop!" Keja shouted.  
  
The wheels on the Slot Machine then began to slow down. The wheels stopped one after another and lit up after wards. Seven, X, Seven.  
  
"What's that mean?" Picard asked.  
  
"You lose!" Cleric yelled out as he pressed another button. "Now you must pay the price for losing."  
  
The group heard a loud clank sound to their left. They looked over to see the wall slowly opening like sliding doors. An annoying alarm was ringing in the background as a massive creature emerged from the wall.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Picard asked slowly.  
  
"This is another of my cybernetic soldiers." Cleric answered. "Prototype #2100, Spikebot!"  
  
The machine began to stomp towards them like a golem. It's fists were large metal balls that resembled a mace.  
  
"Spikebot! Show them the price for losing!" Cleric yelled as he pressed another button.  
  
A large light cage then encased Picard, Ameph, and YQ. Keja left out in the open.  
  
"Spikebot, destroy the Dark Magician!" Cleric yelled once again before the Spikebot's fists slammed hard on the ground, long metal chains still connecting them to its arms.  
  
"Oh crap." Keja muttered as the Spikebot stomp towards him with a quickened pace.  
  
The Spikebot swung his right arm at Keja, who ducked under the attack and watched the fist slam hard into one of the nearby game tables, sending it across the room in pieces. The Spikebot pulled his fist back and stared at Keja.  
  
"Ok." Keja thought. "Magic can't hurt these things, so I'm gonna have to take it out with brute force. But I don't know anything other then spells and evasive maneuvers."  
  
"You waste what little time you have left Dark Magician!" Cleric yelled. "Spikebot! Switch to tornado mode!"  
  
The Spikebot responded with a red flash from its eyes. It retracted its arms and rose them to a level angle. It then began to spin. It spun in a fast motion and almost propelled itself off the ground. It came closer and closer to Keja. Keja jamp back a few steps still thinking of a way to get around the monstrous machine.  
  
Keja stared hard at the Spikebot as it came closer to him, looking for a weakness. "That's it!" He yelled as he raised his staff at the machine.  
  
"What are you doing!?" YQ yelled. "Magic won't hurt these things remember!?"  
  
"True." Keja said. "Magic can't hurt them. But maybe it can stop them."  
  
"What do you think you're doing Dark Magician!?" Cleric yelled.  
  
"My name is Keja." Keja said. "And I think I'm going to do this. Swords of Revealing Light!" He yelled as he shot several golden swords at the Spikebot, stopping it almost instantly. "Here goes nothing!" He yelled as he jamp over the Spikebot and thrusted the end of his staff into its head.  
  
The Spikebot's eyes dimmed as small bolts of lightning flew around its body. The head began to smoke as Keja pulled his staff out of the monsters head and jamp back the ground. The swords faded and the machine fell on its back with a hard thud. Keja walked back over to the group as the cages around them faded.  
  
"Hmph." Cleric pouted. "Lucky shot. Go ahead and try again, but your next loss will be more harsh than the last."  
  
"That is if we lose again." YQ said.  
  
"Yeah. Let me try my luck." Picard said as he walked up and pulled on the lever.  
  
The wheels began to spin again, even faster than last time. Picard watched the wheels spin round and round, waiting for the right time to stop it.  
  
"Stop!" Picard yelled before the wheels slowed down and then stopped.  
  
Seven, Seven, Pendulum.  
  
"Your luck is horrible Picard." Keja said.  
  
"Well yours wasn't exactly perfect either." Picard replied as another loud clang sounded, this time from the right.  
  
The light cages came down again, but this time around Keja, YQ, and Ameph. Picard was left alone to face his punishment for losing. 


End file.
